scholarly journals Cognitive Performance and Morning Levels of Salivary Cortisol and α-Amylase in Children Reporting High vs. Low Daily Stress Perception

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique F. Maldonado ◽  
Francisco J. Fernandez ◽  
M. Victoria Trianes ◽  
Keith Wesnes ◽  
Orlando Petrini ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of daily stress perception on cognitive performance and morning basal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in healthy children aged 9–12. Participants were classified by whether they had low daily perceived stress (LPS,n= 27) or a high daily perceived stress (HPS,n= 26) using the Children Daily Stress Inventory (CDSI). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured at awakening and 30 minutes later. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research assessment system. The HPS group exhibited significantly poorer scores on speed of memory (p < .05) and continuity of attention (p< .05) relative to the LPS group. The HPS group also showed significantly lower morning cortisol levels at awakening and at +30 minutes measures in comparison with the LPS group (p< .05), and mean morning cortisol levels were negatively correlated with speed of memory (p< .05) in the 53 participants. No significant differences were observed between both groups in alpha-amylase levels. These findings suggest that daily perceived stress in children may impoverish cognitive performance via its modulating effects on the HPA axis activity.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 682
Author(s):  
Patricia Sampedro-Piquero ◽  
Selene Vicario ◽  
Aroha Pérez-Rivas ◽  
César Venero ◽  
Shishir Baliyan ◽  
...  

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex upon the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Assessment of cortisol in saliva has emerged as a reliable way of evaluating HPA function. We examined the relationships between salivary cortisol levels with both craving and cognitive performance, as a possible biomarker of cocaine addiction. Cognitive performance (attention, declarative and working memory, executive functions and recognition of emotions) was assessed in 14 abstinent cocaine-dependent subjects in outpatient treatment and 13 control participants. Three salivary samples were collected at home by all the participants in the morning, afternoon and at bedtime. Patients showed higher levels of cortisol in the morning, as well as higher area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUCg). Regarding cognitive performance, cocaine-abstinent subjects showed worse performance in attention (d2 test), verbal memory (Spanish Complementary Verbal Learning Test, TAVEC) and executive tests (Tower of Hanoi and phonological fluency test) with respect to the control group. Morning cortisol levels and the AUCg index were negatively associated with the age of onset of drug consumption and the AUCg index was also positively associated with craving in our patients’ group. Moreover, morning cortisol levels, as well as the AUCg index, were negatively associated with verbal memory performance. Therefore, our pilot study suggests that salivary cortisol measurements could be a good avenue to predict craving level, as well as cognitive status, especially the declarative memory domain.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve Arsenault-Lapierre ◽  
Victor Whitehead ◽  
Sonia Lupien ◽  
Howard Chertkow

Anosognosia, or unawareness of one’s own cognitive deficits, may cause issues when measuring perceived stress and cortisol levels in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The goal of this study was to examine the effects of anosognosia on perceived stress and salivary cortisol levels in normal elderly (NE) adults, MCI individuals, newly diagnosed AD patients, and long-lasting AD patients, suspected to show more anosognosia. An anosognosia index for perceived stress was computed by subtracting the score on the Perceived Stress Scale measured in the participants and their relative. Cortisol levels were measured four times a day over two nonconsecutive days. Greater anosognosia for dementia correlated with greater anosognosia for perceived stress in the group as a whole. However, no correlation between cortisol levels and either anosognosia for dementia or perceived stress was observed. Our results suggest that measuring perceived stress in AD patients may be influenced by anosognosia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 20-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djordje Bozovic ◽  
Nedeljka Ivkovic ◽  
Maja Racic ◽  
Sinisa Ristic

Introduction/Objective. Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are characterized by the appearance of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction of the masticatory system. The aims of this study were to evaluate the salivary cortisol levels in students with chronic myofascial pain (MFP) related to TMD during oral exam, as well as to analyze the correlation between salivary cortisol levels, TMD-related MFP, the level of anxiety, depression symptoms, somatization, and perceived stress. Methods. The study included 60 university students, who were allocated either into the group of students with MFP (n = 30) or into the control group of healthy students (n = 30). The level of salivary cortisol was measured on the exam day and during the control day when the students had no exams. Depression symptoms, somatization, perceived stress and anxiety were evaluated according to Axis II RDC/TMD, Perceived Stress Scale and State?Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results. Levels of salivary cortisol were significantly higher in the group of students with MFP in all phases of measurements compared to the control group (p < 0.01). Students with MFP also showed significantly higher depression symptoms, somatization, and trait anxiety scores than the control group. No significant group differences were found on the scales measuring state anxiety and perceived stress. The level of salivary cortisol was found to be in correlation with depression symptoms, state anxiety, and perceived stress, but not with chronic pain, somatization, and trait anxiety in students with TMD. Conclusion. Salivary cortisol could be an important indicator of psychological distress in TMD.


Elements ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Samir

Studies of stress and cortisol levels in adults indicate that keeping normal levels of cortisol is beneficial to subjects. The hormone cortisol has many functions including proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, immune function, and inflammatory  response. When cortisol levels spike, as with stress, there can be a negative effect on the individual. Due to the hectic pace of modern life, the body’s stress response does not always have time to return to normal, leading to cortisol levels remaining too high. This can lead to suppressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity, and increased abdominal fat. Stress plays a prominent role in the lives of millions of people all across the globe. This problem is not one that affects solely the adult population but also a multitude of adolescents and children. Oftentimes, stress can have both a physical and psychological effect on an individual. Many persons report an effect on food consumption when under stressful situations, causing one to either eat more or less than normal. In turn, these eating patterns can potentially influence the Body Mass Index (BMI) of an individual. While increased stress can lead to a higher or lower than normal cortisol level and BMI in adults, the role in adolescents is not entirely clear. This study investigated whether there is a relationship between stress and BMI in high-achieving adolescents, aged 14 to 18. The Perceived Stress Scale survey paired with additional questions that helped determine variables believed to impact stress levels were administered to determine overall stress levels in each subject. To determine cortisol levels, a competitive enzyme immunoassay was used.  This study indicates that there   are no significant correlations between perceived stress levels, salivary cortisol levels, and BMI in this group of individuals. However, a distinct difference in self-assessed stress levels was apparent between males and females. Somewhat unexpectedly, a negative relationship was found between BMI and salivary cortisol levels and perceived stress and salivary cortisol levels.


2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1133-1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Ng ◽  
David Koh ◽  
Sin-Eng Chia

Immediately before and after participation in a written final examination, 11 graduate students rated their self-perceived stress and provided saliva samples for cortisol assay. Students rated stress higher before the examination, and these ratings were associated with increased salivary cortisol. Students who reported higher stress and had higher cortisol levels before the examination tended to have significantly lower examination scores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. E202038
Author(s):  
Lyubov Leybyuk ◽  
Mykola Rozhko ◽  
Olena Rozhko

Diabetes mellitus is referred to as non-communicable epidemic of the 21st century and the fight against diabetes is one of medical and social challenges. One of its complications is damage to periodontal tissues that is accompanied by tooth loss. Any removable denture is a foreign body being a stress factor for the oral cavity. The objective of the research was to study dynamic changes in the activity of stress factor indicators, namely salivary cortisol, glucose and alpha-amylase levels in diabetic patients after prosthodontic treatment with complete removable laminar dentures. Materials and Methods. For this study, patients at the age of 45 to 74 years were divided into two groups: Group I included 52 edentulous patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were treated with acrylic resin complete removable laminar dentures; Group II comprised 52 edentulous patients without endocrine pathology who were treated with acrylic resin complete removable laminar dentures as well. Saliva served as the study material. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine salivary cortisol levels. Glucose concentration in saliva was determined by a unified enzymatic method. Alpha-amylase activity was determined by the enzymatic colorimetric method. Results. According to the research results, before prosthodontic treatment, salivary cortisol levels of patients with diabetes mellitus were 2.4 times higher as compared to patients without somatic pathology. In phase I of adaptation to complete removable laminar dentures, in patients with diabetes mellitus, salivary cortisol concentration increased drastically by 1.4 times as compared to the indicator before prosthodontic treatment (5.61±0.83 ng/ml vs. 4.02±0.65 ng/ml, p<0.01), while in the group of patients without endocrine pathology, cortisol levels increased by 1.2 times; salivary glucose level of patients with diabetes mellitus increased by 1.3 times, while in patients without endocrine pathology, it increased by 1.1 times; in patients of Group I, salivary alpha-amylase levels increased by 1.2 times, while in patients of Group II, salivary alpha-amylase concentration increased by 1.05 times. Conclusions. In patients with diabetes mellitus, changes in saliva composition indicate a significant reduction in the adaptation mechanisms, that complicates and significantly prolongs the period of adaptation to complete removable laminar dentures.


Author(s):  
Ricardo J. M. Governo ◽  
Danah A. Alyusuf ◽  
Paul R. Gard

Background: Working in the healthcare sector is generally regarded as stress inductive, which hampers performance, yet one demanding constant accuracy. This dichotomy has led to numerous investigations on the impact from perceived stress on hospital workers but focused primarily on employing psychological methods to determine perceived stress. This study sought to employ an arguably more objective measure of chronic stress on female healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia, by assaying the concentration of hair cortisol (HCC) in parallel with stress questionnaires.Methods: Pharmacists, nurses and lab workers participated in providing hair samples. Cortisol levels were subsequently quantified using immunoassay methods. Investigations considered the variables of age, gender, and smoking, hair coloring or bleaching or working in shifts on both stress perception and HCC.Results: On average chronic stress was perceived comparably between the different healthcare professions and not differ significantly against the female control group. However, chronic stress differed significantly between genders within the healthcare profession. In contrast, HCC levels showed no direct relation to stress perception with respect to either gender or profession. HCC did, however, show steady decreases with respect to age, as an indirect measure of experience, that contrasted against the identical scores for stress perception. Finally, night shifts, smoking or hair colouring did not produce a significant change on HCC in the healthcare cohorts.Conclusions: Women in the healthcare profession perceive stress higher irrespective of profession compared to men. Also show a pattern of decreasing levels of cortisol with increasing age despite reporting similar stress perception against younger participants.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 596-597
Author(s):  
Stefânia Martins Teixeira ◽  
Amanda Neumann Reyes ◽  
Ricardo Azevedo da Silva ◽  
Luciano Dias de Mattos Souza ◽  
Fernanda Pedrotti Moreira ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (T3) ◽  
pp. 144-149
Author(s):  
Andi Jayalangkara Tanra ◽  
Hawaidah Madeali ◽  
Mayamariska Sanusi ◽  
Saidah Syamsuddin ◽  
Sonny Teddy Lisal

BACKGROUND: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and its end product cortisol have been extensively investigated in patients with depressive disorders for many years. Recently, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) had emerged as a new biomarker with non-invasive and more convenience protocol for measuring sympathetic activity which were also associated with depression. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor is antidepressant drug extensively used to treat depression. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine whether decrease of sAA and salivary cortisol levels could be observed in subjects with depression who were treated by fluoxetine. METHODS: The total subjects were 25 depressed subjects and ten healthy controls. sAA was examined before therapy, and after 2, 4, and 6 weeks of fluoxetine administration using a portable cocorometer. Salivary cortisol was examined before therapy, after 4 and 6 weeks of fluoxetine administration with Elisa method. The therapeutic effect was assessed with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). RESULTS: sAA and cortisol levels were significantly decreased after fluoxetine administration (p < 0.001), followed by at least 50% reduction of HDRS scores after 6 weeks of fluoxetine administration. Levels of sAA and cortisol were higher in the depression group than in the healthy control. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of sAA levels can be used as a potential biomarker of therapeutic response in depressed patients in addition to salivary cortisol.


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